Guardian
by Narina Nightfall
Summary: An ancient being who has existed for more than 10,000 years has decided to, once again, rise out of the ashes of her past. She is bound to protect the races, but when her anger is aroused, will anyone be able to stop her from resuming her past.
1. Who am I?

Guardian  
  
Author: Narina Nightfall  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Amelia Atwhater Rhodes' world. Wish I did. I'm still trying to get legal rights to some of it but it doesn't seem to be working. Anyway, Anàra, Mikal, the shapeshifter dude, and any other Ocs I come up with are mine. I'm not entirely sure if any of AAR's characters are going to show up in this fic, but if they do THEY ARE NOT MINE. Oh, and the plot is mine. No stealing without asking. :)  
  
I have watched from the shadows for many centuries. I existed before Siete and I will last beyond him. I am not a vampire, but I am not a witch. I was never human. I was born as I am.  
  
The world has deteriorated since I was born. Once, there was peace and acceptance of all races, whether human, witch, or other. In the Second Age of life, we had begun our wars. Now, humans have declared themselves the best of all species and have forgotten their promise to the old races. I stand as surety that the promise will always be kept.  
  
I sit in the lair of the vampires, watching, ever watching them. The only one of their race that would recognize me, I avoid. I stay away from the oldest shapeshifters for they would remember me on smell alone. Their instincts are better and their memories longer. They have spread my stories throughout their kind, making sure that I will never be welcome among them.  
  
Who am I you ask? My name is forgotten in all but the oldest texts, and those have been destroyed. In this age, I have gone back to the name I was born with. Anàra. She who dances. The name my mother gave to me.   
  
You ask what I am if I am none of the things you are acquainted with? There is no word in any language to describe me. I am closest to the vampire, but I also have shapeshifter, witch, human, and trandi blood. The trandi are a race long dead though not forgotten by those who know their history. They were the children of gods. The rest of what I am, would not make sense to you because those races have been dead for quite a few millennia.  
  
I look like a human, but that is not my true appearance. I was born with skin so white, it looked like snow. My lips were as red as blood, and my hair was silver. I had no pulse, my heart did not beat, and I was born with fangs. I reflected my mother in all these things, but the traits of my father were subtler.  
  
I learned that I had the ability to change into any shape I desired whether animate or inanimate. Many years later, I discovered that I would never look older than 18 and that I would live eternally while my parents and their other children would die. I am able to disappear and reappear in a different place, and I will not easily die. I have been to that point may times, but have never gone over it.  
  
I have the fangs of a vampire along with their strengths, but I do not have the bloodlust.  
  
Oh, I will die if I do not drink the blood of a creature within 2 days, but my body does not warn me that I must eat. So, I am closest to the vampires in all these traits. I decided many years ago that my purpose in this world was to keep the pact that the great peoples had sworn over 10,000 years ago.  
  
That pact states that the 3 greatest races must never become extinct. Those races are Men, Vampires, and Kitsu (otherwise known as witches). I have made sure that this happened. Not because I am a moral creature who believes the extinction of a race is horrible and must be avoided at all costs. No, I did it because I have committed crimes so horrible that my Father made me the Keeper of the Pact so that I could no longer cause trouble. It has worked so far, and I believe that I have come to care for the greatest of the races the Vampires.  
  
This is my story. May it help you to understand how evil can become good, even when it is as old as the mountains. 


	2. Remembering the Past

I sit in a small shop in a French town that is so far into the wilderness that only hunters come here. The kind of hunter is never certain. As I sit in a small window seat sipping a glass of blood red wine, I stare out at the snow that reminds me so much of a home that was lost to death and time.  
  
I remember...  
  
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A man entered the room. He carried 2 sacks whose contents were dubious. I came rushing up to him.  
  
"Papa! You are back! Mama said that since you were so late already, that you probably wouldn't be coming home in time for Sentersday," I cried.  
  
My father knelt to tousle my silver hair and said, "The air currents were horrible, and Doctil was having trouble. His wing is still healing. Also, the job took a little longer than usual. I almost wasn't able to buy you a gift."  
  
My father handed me a package and I scurried off into a corner to open it. My mother entered the room.  
  
"Yenay! Finally you have returned. We feared that the storm would catch you, and that we would not be able to find your remains until after they had been dashed to a million pieces. There is frightful weather out there."  
  
My mother was a pure vampire. In those days, humans were mere meat and to take the life of one of them was an accepted fact of survival. Even the humans wouldn't argue with that. She had black hair with silvery white highlights and very beautiful features. She was a tall woman and very dangerous as well.  
  
My father was an assassin. His blood was a mix of trandi, witch, and scrool. The scrool were a race that no one could describe. Some of their descendants are the platypus, the cheetah, and the peregrine falcon. As I was saying, he was an assassin and his skills went hand in hand with those of my mother who worked with herbs and concocted poisons. They had met at the great capital of Lightful.  
  
I was their only child. I grew up learning the way of the knife and the way of healing. My mother taught me by day in our house by the river, and my father taught me by night, taking me over the rooftops and into noble's houses. At the age of 10, I was given my first pair of throwing daggers along with a regular pair to replace the ones I had received at 8.   
  
As I grew, I learned more and soon surpassed both my parents. I knew two trades and I had a deadly mix of blood. For while witches and vampires are deadly through both training and strength, the scrool have the ability to move so quietly and quickly as to seem to be a shadow and the trandi have some few small abilities that today would be called magic.  
  
As I sat in the corner, opening my present, I listened to my parents speak in urgent voices. My father sounded afraid, and he was urging my mother to leave for the city at once and take me with her. She was refusing and I will never forgive myself for mot pushing her to leave then. For that was the day that my parents died.  
  
As I buried my face deep into the shirt which my father had bought me, I heard the door slam open, and I knew at that moment that my family would die. I could do nothing. I was the first to be captured for both of my parents were murdered. They held me as they killed them and I screamed. I remember a feeling of rage.  
  
I killed all the people who had entered our house. It turns out that my father had killed the wrong man and he was to pay for it with his life. That time was the only time that I have ever felt the bloodlust.  
  
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I shudder, thinking of the journey to an uncle's house only to find his house murdered along with all my other relatives. Why were these memories coming back now? I thought I had buried them along with my morals and principals which had gone so long without use that they had grown dusty.  
  
I sigh. This was the past and the future was ahead. As I spot a familiar looking face in the shop my thoughts quickly leave my family and instead travel to the present. Yes, it is him. But...  
  
He should be dead.  
  
To all of my lovely 2 reviewers who encouraged me enough to write a second chapter. Please, more reviews! It helps me understand if I'm doing something wrong and positive comments will make me continue writing this.  
  
Jada Austen: Thanks. Encouragement is always helpful and its cool that you think my stories good. I wasn't sure where exactly I was going with this but thanks. I hope I updated soon enough.  
  
Triple Creasent: I am 13 almost 14. If you really think my writing is that good, I have on fic at fictionpress.com and I have one other on here 


	3. Strange Love

Just for future reference, ~`~ means a flashback and a second one means the end of one. If you like my story, please review. My e-mail is definitely not full enough.  
  
I jumped up and hurriedly took myself back to my house, or rather my mansion. Over the years I have accumulated quite a bit of gold and I figure, if I have to be the guardian of the races, I might as well do it in comfort. I doubt my Father would agree.  
  
I thought furiously about the man I had seen. I had seen him die. In fact, I was the one who plunged the knife into his gut in the first place. He should be dead. So why wasn't he?  
  
I think back to all those years ago, when I had fallen in love and paid in blood. If it wasn't my blood, it still left a heavy weight upon me. Maybe now that I'd learned he was alive, a little of that weight could be lifted.  
  
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I walked out of a little café on the main street of a large town in western Greece. I liked to travel and, although areas of large population bother me, I had found that cities gave me the best chance to get a quick meal. Takeout. Pick up the human, disappear to a secluded place, and, voila, you've got a meal with no complications like relatives who are too inquisitive. Its simply blamed on those 'horrid criminals'.  
  
As I walked out, a man followed me. You must understand that I use the word man in the loosest sense. For this man was not human. He was a vampire. Apparently he was looking for a meal and thought me appropriately tasty looking. I grinned wickedly. I had my aura shielded so he couldn't tell that I was a powerful being who could kick his ass with a whim. I decided to play along.  
  
I turned around quickly. "Why are you following me, you creep?" I asked in my most whiny, teenager voice. "Are you like perverted or something? I'll put in a complaint to the authorities."  
  
The vampire looked surprised that I had noticed him stalking me, but he recovered quickly. "Why, madam, would you think I was following you? Is a person not allowed to walk where he wished now? I can't believe the government would presume to put rules on that."  
  
I laughed quietly. "I'm sorry," I apologized. "I'm just a little jittery from that article they posted in the newspaper recently. About the teenager who was abducted and killed. Its scary." I shivered theatrically.  
  
At once he was all apology. "I'm sorry. I've scared you badly and on top of that kept you waiting outside in this cold weather." At that moment, it started raining hard. "Would you like to come over to my place until it stops?"  
  
I shielded my body under the small protection of my jacket. I really hate rain. Its cold, wet, and similar to snow which I will not go near for all the money in the world as it reminds me of the night of my family's death on which the worst snow storm in a century took place. In Greece it was only cold and not snowing yet, so I was alright, but I really didn't want to stay out in the rain. I agreed to go to his house. I knew that there he would try to drink from me. I wasn't worried. His power was less than half of mine.  
  
We ran quickly to a small house just off of Main Street. It was medium sized but very elegant. We entered hurriedly and our soaking coats were taken by a butler who was a blood bond of my 'captor'. He escorted us into a lounge with a fire burning high inside. It appeared my friend hated being wet and cold as much as I did. I huddled gratefully over the flames.  
  
"So what's your name? Its going to take a while for it to stop raining, so we might as well talk," I said, "and eat," I added with a wicked grin. "People call me Re"  
  
"Well," said my host with a hungry look toward my neck. "my friends call me Mikal. Are you hungry? I'll have the butler bring you a plate straight from the kitchen." Mikal rang a small bell and within seconds there was a huge meal sitting in front of me.  
  
"Thanks. I think I'll eat this and then... sleep until it stops," I said teasing this vampire who would not be able to resist the chance offered when I fell asleep.  
  
"Sure, " he said as he tried to ease into my mind and send me to sleep a little faster. "I can have the guest room set up for you."  
  
I replied with a mumbled yes and pretended to slowly fall asleep on the couch. I was surprised when my host didn't immediately sink his fangs in. I drifted slowly into sleep...  
  
...and woke with all 'my' blood in my body. I was mystified. Mikal had not harmed me even though he was incredibly hungry. I went home to my cold bed and tried to puzzle it out.  
  
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I sat in a leather chair whose worn seat held many memories. Mikal and I had met again many times and I fell in love with him and he with me. The many memories I have of him are good ones except for the last few when I finally went over the edge and killed him. I will never forgive Dominik the shapeshifter for his deception and I will never forgive myself for falling for it. I mourned Mikal for many years, but if he is alive, I hope that he still loves me.  
  
As per the summary, I will be getting to the matter of her becoming angry and we will discover how and why she killed Mikal. I don't particularly like all the flashbacks, but they are necessary to tell the rest of the story. Please review. Please. *Gets down on hands and knees and starts begging with pleading expression on face*. 


	4. Meeting the Shifter

Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers. * huggles them tightly * Reviews really do make me write faster. So if you like my story and didn't like the delay in update, REVIEW! It will make you feel better. I promise. I decided to add a disclaimer as well as change the shapeshifter's name. Tranfo just didn't fit any longer.  
  
For those of you who love pain and torture, some of it is coming up in a couple chapters. I wonder who will be getting that 'special' treatment. I promise that alternate point of views will be coming up as well. While most of it will be from Anàra's POV, I want to get some other characters in such as Mikal, the shapeshifter, her Father, and any new characters I introduce. I think that once I finally get into what's happening in the present, I'll start using more of Amelia's characters. But I promise that we'll see Aubrey, Nikolas, and Risika at least once.   
  
I would like to say one more tiny little thing and then I'll shut up. I was re-reading the books and I found the part about vampires being unable to bear children. Or at least that is what it implies. Also, I says that Siete was the first vampire. If Anàra was born before him and has vampiric blood, it contradicts what the book says. Well, my explanation is that Anàra isn't a vampire as we know them from the books. She's a different race. Her race of vampire can have children, doesn't feel bloodlust, and existed and died before Siete came around. I think that's what I'm trying to say. I don't know if anyone was confused or not, but I just wanted to clarify.  
  
Cheers!!!  
  
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I wandered outside the Wells Cathedral, an old building whose architecture was stunning. I hold no fear of God, for I am already damned. I have seen hell in dreams which have not faded with time. I will not let religion and overzealous priests keep me from a place I wish to go.   
  
I had walked here 800 years ago when construction had first began. I had watched the peasants labor until midnight. Their exhaustion had kept their master's fears of rebellion unfulfilled. During the last 100 years of its construction, I had even helped those lowly people who I pitied for no other reason than that they would never see freedom.  
  
I had been posing as a merchant of sorts, not one who sold goods for her main living, but instead, sold information to the highest bidder. I was also spreading around the rumor that I was a good but obscure artist and was soon approached by a rotund man of medium years. He asked me to work on the cathedral, and I, of course, agreed.  
  
During the course of those last 100 years, I died at least once. Maybe twice. That is, the person I was pretending to be died. I could not live for 100 years when an old person was in their 40s. In any case, I had carved several of the picture parables which adorned the outside wall. I had also carved a host of 'demons' on the inside. Many of my fellow workers told me that they looked startlingly real and that my monsters had terrified them away from sinning for a week.   
  
I had only drawn 12 of the lesser circle, for lack of a better word, shadow binders. There is no word in any language for them. They are long extinct. To me, they look as frightening as a frog. I have seen much worse. But to humans...I suppose they would be even more terrifying than vampires, even after one had sucked their blood. Shadow blenders look evil and harm little while vampires are the exact opposite. Humans deceive themselves terribly.  
  
I ran my hands over the intricate carvings I had carved. They were perfect. It had taken me 15 years to carve out this particular scene. It was my favorite. It showed Eve, taking the fruit of Eden from the serpent. Temptation at its simplest.  
  
This had been the place where I first encountered Dominik the shapeshifter. It was because of him that I had not been back in 800 years. Meeting him had resulted in the death of the only thing I had dared to love after my parents.  
  
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I stroked my hands lovingly over the carving I had just finished. It depicted a 7th circle shadow bringer. I had had a young one as my pet. They were very sweet creatures although they didn't get along with their brothers and sisters in the other 11 circles. I had just finished carving the exceedingly detailed horns and hadn't paid much attention to what was happening behind me. I hadn't noticed as my fellow workers had left for their homes, and I hadn't noticed as a silent figure crept up behind me.  
  
"He's very cute. Where ever did you get the idea from, Kiramea?" I heard a voice say behind me.  
  
"Hello?" I called softly. This person knew a name I had not used in a millennia but panicking would not help the situation in the least. "I don't know if there is a, what was it, Kee-ra-mee-ya on the site, but I will help you look for her good sir. She might be home already. I am but a simple architect. One commissioned among many."  
  
The man laughed loudly. "You are as good as he said you were. I always knew he was a good contact," he said and paused. "We both know who you are. I have spent the last 374 years searching for you. I know almost a dozen names you've gone by: Kiramea, Natria, Ariana, Renalt, Kaei, Berune, Laurin, Cleo, Gefire... Shall I go on?"  
  
"If you know so much about me," I said, straightening from the crouch I was in to stand at my full height, "you would know better than to ever threaten me with information that comes from a source that can be destroyed. Can you tell me why I shouldn't just kill you now?"  
  
The man sobered. "You shouldn't kill me because I do not want to reveal your secrets to the world. I want neither the slave trade vampires nor the New Mayhem vampires coming after you. I have yet to figure you out, my lady, and in the meantime, I have a business proposition for you." He paused. "If I am going to be meeting with you often, I'm going to have to call you by a name that we both find agreeable."  
  
I moved quickly. Where I had once been halfway across the room, I was now right in front of the little bastard who had risked my cover and my life to talk to me. "And why should I care that you do not intend to reveal my secrets? From long experience I have learned that anything can and will be revealed under torture. Why should I trust you to keep my secrets when you shouldn't have them to start with? In any case, I have no intention of listening to some scam to kill thousands of vampires in one fell swoop. I only conduct business with those who I know. And many of them are dead." I smiled dangerously. If he got the hint, then he would leave now. If he had looked me up so thoroughly, then he would understand that I did not have a history of being merciful or kind.  
  
The man smiled. Tightly, but it was still a smile. I did not believe it. He had confronted me on my own ground, started a dangerous conversation, dared to say I shouldn't kill him when he knew my secrets, and now, he had smiled at me. Laughter I could handle. It could be derisive and hateful and still be full of pleasant expressions, but smiles had always annoyed me, perhaps because it was the expression my mother had always worn. In any case, smiles were always full of amusement and usually told me that the person smiling thought he knew something I did not.  
  
I moved even quicker than before. I slammed him against the wall and pressed my hand to his throat. I felt newly fallen dust settle on my head and shoulders. "I would be very careful right around now if I were you. You've placed yourself in a very dangerous position. You know some of my secrets, though you don't know them all. I have every reason to kill you and none to keep you alive. So tell me..."  
  
"Dominik."  
  
"...Dominik. How are you any different from the others who have come looking for me? They knew less about me, but your schemes are all the same. I will listen to you for now, but don't dare to assume that you know me and what I will do from hearsay or contacts you'd trust with your life. Only one knows all my secrets, and he has stayed away from this part of the world for ages." I released my grip on his throat slightly so I could hear his response.  
  
He cleared his throat softly and said, "First can you give me a name to use?" I glared at him. He swallowed. "I suppose not. My business proposition is this. I work for the vampiric haven in Rome called..."  
  
"Carneficina. I know. Get on with the deal."  
  
"Carneficina wants you to pose as a young vampire. Very young, but very strong. We want a specific Vida to come after you and try to kill you. You kill her and we won't be threatened anymore. Carneficina won't be held responsible for her death because you'll be a free blood vampire. One without any ties to a vampire or its home. You get paid a large amount for killing an enemy that would try to kill you anyway, and we have the benefit of being unthreatened."  
  
"What happens when the Vida's relatives try to kill me?"   
  
"We've got a nice little place set up for you to stay for a couple thousand years. They won't find you."  
  
I nodded thoughtfully, but then stopped. What was that sound...? Footsteps?  
  
"Go," I told him, "I will talk to you later. Come to my house at midnight. I'm holding a small bash."  
  
I started slightly as I realized that memory had crossed with present. I could hear footsteps. I left the area quickly. Stories were still told around these parts of a woman with hair that shined silver in the dark and who wandered the cathedral, communing with the demons.  
  
So, what did you think? Press the little button in the corner and tell me. God almighty, it took me a long time to write this. 


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